by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
By Carnalee
Language: English
As I went down by Carnalee, I heard one singing on the sea, Singing sweetly terribly, The song of drowned men. The moon bent down from heav'n to hear, The seas drew up, the stars drew near. Oh, many a night shall round the year Ere such be seen again. As I went down by Carnalee, I saw one sitting on the sea, White she was as the white thorn-tree And her hair a fiery crown. Nor hosen nor hood she happed her in, Nor linen smock she wrapped her in, But the cold sea-wave she lapped her in And the green weed streaming down. Lying sleepless in the stead, I could hear the ocean tread, Trampling, down the bleaching bed Of the happy men that drown With never a shroud to hap them in Nor kirk-yard mould to wrap them in, But her long white arms to lap them in, And the sea to roll them down.
Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Ernest Whyte (1858 - 1922), "By Carnalee", op. 35 no. 1. [text verified 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 158